After advice - mis-sold a car based on false information...

Associate
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18 Oct 2012
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438
Ok guys,

So my mum recently purchased a used 2016 Kia Sportage from a very large, nationwide, car dealer. She went for a Kia based on the 7-year manufacturer's warranty. The car has 21,000 miles on it and was sold as having a FSH and 4 years manufacturer warranty remaining. She purchased the vehicle and took delivery on Saturday. When she went through the manual and the service book, the service stamp and documentation for year 1 (2017) and year 2 (2018) were missing. Only the service stamp fro 2019 was present. She immediately went to the garage and told the salesperson who sold her the vehicle wasn't in and not to worry, it will all be resolved Monday. She went back on Monday and was told the salesperson wasn't in and it would be best to phone KIA direct and get the service history from them. My mum phoned KIA who had no record other than the 2019 service and couldn't help anymore. The paperwork was documentation from the previous owner - it was a personal lease vehicle. My mum phoned the leasing company who said all their information, including service history, was passed wit the vehicle to British Car Auctions at the end of the lease. This is where the dealer purchased the vehicle before selling it to my mum. My mum relayed this information onto the dealer, who said they would look into it and get back to her. She then received a phone call on Tuesday from the original salesperson who re-assured my mum it would be sorted and they would phone her back ASAP. My mum came to visit me today and this was the first I heard of the issue. I told her to get back on the phone to the dealer and ask to speak to a manager. All three managers were unavailable/too busy and the salesperson was out delivering a vehicle to a customer. I told my mum to phone the dealer's central customer service department and raise a complaint. She was dealt with very professionally and was advised to phone the dealer back, explain how she had spoken to the customer service department and if the managers were still available, then proceed wit the complaint. The manager immediately answered, however, would not speak to my mum. My mum and dad bought the car but the car is in my dad's name. The manager then phoned my dad who gave permission for my mum to deal with the problem on his behalf. The manager phoned back and was very arrogant and rude. He told my mum that he was going to sort it, however, if she raised a complaint with head office, he would purposely slow down the investigation into the missing service history. He then kept speaking over her saying "but you didn't buy the car, your husband did" and contradicted himself several times. My mum left the call very upset, stressed and tearful. She immediately phoned customer services and raised the complaint. She was dealt with very fairly and treated like a human. Almost immediately after raising the complaint she received a call from the dealer, apologising for how things had been handled and re-assuring her they would get to the bottom of it. 20 minutes later, she received another call from the dealer offering her an extended 2-year warranty with their network rather than the KIA one... I told her to not accept anything and let the customer complaints department conduct their investigation and reach a formal resolution. The minimum she should be accepting is a 4-year warranty with KIA and nothing from the third party dealership.

Any thoughts or advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.
 
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Soldato
Joined
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16,526
Yup! I had the same problem at the start of the year. I bought a 2 year old car with FDSH which was a lie. Think I actually made a thread on here about it.
The general concensus was that the car would not have had the required oil changes and to reject.

That's what I did, and fortunately for me, ended up in a brand new car from another dealer within two weeks.

Dealers lie like you wouldn't believe!
 
Sgarrista
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Reject the car. Stuff like missed services will be thrown in your face so fast it will make your head spin if a warranty claim arises not worth it, plenty of examples of such a standard car around.
 
Man of Honour
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13 Oct 2006
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90,805
Dealers lie like you wouldn't believe!

So I've been finding out :( I bought a Nissan Navara - late model D40 Outlaw and when I was looking at it (main dealer) enquired about whether the chassis had been inspected and was told most assuredly it had... cue on Monday a letter turning up from Nissan that the free chassis inspection/treatment program will be coming to an end in 2020 and my vehicle hasn't been looked at yet - checked with Nissan and it isn't a generic letter/mistake and if I have the letter it is because it hasn't been looked at.
 
Soldato
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probably find the warranty is void with Kia due to lack of servicing anyway? unless they magically find a history.

This! they use anything to get out of a warranty claim

Write them a dated letter (maybe follow it up with an email just to be safe) explaining you want to reject the car and your reasons. Give them a realistic time frame (say 2 weeks), and say you'll be seeking legal advice. Might also be worth logging a call with citizens advice, they give you a reference number which may help if they start being funny.

Get their head office involved so they know what's going on.

Just get your money back and find something else. Time may be against you, I know you can legally reject within a certain time....but since this is slightly different as they have lied to you, you might be ok. I'd start tomorrow anyway.

:edit: might be trading standards not citizens advice
 
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Soldato
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20 Oct 2004
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Nottingham
Had this with VW in Milton Keynes who knowingly sold us a grey imported Scirocco as a UK GT. Trading standards and get a full refund, don't entertain anything less, it will bite you later on. Its been bought with a value applied to it as having a manufacturer warranty, which it hasn't got so it's already tanked in value.
 
Associate
OP
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How would she go about rejecting it? She paid cash Friday and has been driving it/using it since. She has proof in terms of the paperwork saying it has a 4-year manufacturer warranty remaining. However, this becomes void when Service History is nonexistent.
 
Soldato
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13,059
Location
Nottingham
How would she go about rejecting it? She paid cash Friday and has been driving it/using it since. She has proof in terms of the paperwork saying it has a 4-year manufacturer warranty remaining. However, this becomes void when Service History is nonexistent.

It doesn't matter, they've mis-sold it, speak to trading standards
 
Soldato
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23,299
It's fraud, they don't really have a get-out if you get serious about it.

Never trust anyone driven by commission (salesmen).
 
Associate
OP
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I told her in an ideal world, she would have put the car on their forecourt, handed over the keys and requested her money back. However, she lives in Edinburgh and I live in Lancashire. She is down visiting for half term, which has been planned for months. When purchasing the Kia, she part ex'd her old car. The only mode of transport she has is the Kia. Things were only escalated yesterday after she told me what had happened. Since then, the dealer has panicked and been offering her warranty with them, rather than direct with the manufacturer. However, their warranty is full of get out loop holes... I've told her that if the service history doesn't emerge once the complaint and investigation has concluded. She should then hand back the vehicle or request one to be found that is like for like - but it does include the FSH as originally sold.
 
Soldato
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24,796
Is there any precedent for what 'Full Service History' means in a legal sense?

I've heard it argued that in literal terms it means nothing more than it has the full history of the servicing that has been carried out, not that it has been correctly serviced to manufacturers recommendations.
 
Associate
OP
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438
Is there any precedent for what 'Full Service History' means in a legal sense?

I've heard it argued that in literal terms it means nothing more than it has the full history of the servicing that has been carried out, not that it has been correctly serviced to manufacturers recommendations.
I suppose you're right. But for Kia's manufacturers warranty to be applicable, all services must be carried out either every 12 months or 20,000 miles. Which ever comes first. This hasn't been done but it was sold with 4 years manufacturers warranty remaining. The manufacturers warranty is void at present.
 
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